While the balance of the world is already “celebrating” a special “holiday,” the church intentionally focuses attention on the joyful anticipation of Jesus’ coming to earth. There are many special events coming up for the St. John’s community this Christmas season.
WORSHIP
Advent provides a wonderful opportunity to prepare for the celebration of Christmas. The focus of our weekend worship services will change considerably especially in the “preparatory” rites, the Gloria in Excelsis, the canticle of the angels, is the Hymn of Praise for the season (as compared to “This is the Feast”). Other propers such as the readings, prayers, and proper preface (at the communion) will also reflect the themes of Advent and then Christmas.
Advent Evening Prayer has become a more popular worship experience in the past several years. As compared to the once-a-month Saturday evening setting of the liturgy, this setting is led from the piano. The music, once unfamiliar, is now very familiar to most. Services of Evening Prayer begin at 6:30pm on December 4, 11 & 18.
The Services of Lessons and Carols on Christmas Eve provide a wonderful opportunity for families to celebrate the Nativity of Our Lord. Services are scheduled for 4pm and 9pm to help fit the diverse schedules of worshippers. The 4pm service is scheduled early enough to include young children and conclude before a usual “dinner hour.” The later service provides the opposite.
The Festival of the Nativity of Our Lord, including the celebration of Holy Communion, will be in the Chapel at our usual “festival” hour of 10am. (Easter worship and special morning services at St. John’s are at that hour.)
There are TWO Sundays after Christmas this year. Since it is a 5th Sunday of the month, all the services for the First Sunday after Christmas on December 28/29 will include the celebration of Holy Communion. The service schedule for the Second Sunday after Christmas will be “typical” for the first Sunday of the month.
SPECIAL EVENTS
Christmas Candlelight Tour
On December 7th and 8th, St. John’s will be the first stop on the La Porte Historic Preservation Society’s Christmas Candlelight Tour. This is a time in which people can buy tickets to view a church and homes around La Porte. Being the first stop on the tour makes St. John’s the location for purchasing tickets and allows the community to view the Sanctuary and learn about St. John’s and the architecture of the building and stained glass windows. Volunteers from the St. John’s community will be needed in order to make the building a welcoming space for those who attend.
Children’s Christmas Concert
The students of St. John’s Lutheran School, Kindergarten through eighth grade, will be putting on a Christmas Concert on Thursday, December 12th. Family and friends of St. John’s are invited to attend either the 10:00am rehearsal or 5:30pm service in the sanctuary.
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